The European markets are mixed in afternoon trading Thursday, with German market reversing early gains. Sentiment was influenced by earnings news and some broker actions, amid reports that the Chinese government may buy Portuguese bailout bonds when the auction begins next month.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chippers is losing 0.18 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.11 percent.
The German DAX is losing 0.31 percent, while the French CAC 40 is up 0.03 percent. UK's FTSE 100 is advancing 0.45 percent and Switzerland's SMI is adding 0.11 percent.
Diversified chemical firm Bayer is down 1.3 percent. UBS reduced its rating on the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy" and cut the price target to 60 euros from 62 euros.
Automakers BMW and Volkswagen are losing 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Daimler is sliding 0.15 percent. Morgan Stanley reduced its price targets for BMW and Daimler. BMW's price target was cut to 66 euros from 70 euros, while Daimler's was reduced to 62 euros from 70 euros.
Insurer MunichRe is gaining about 2 percent. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are up about 2 percent each.
In Paris, Michelin is rising about 1 percent. JPMorgan raised its price target on the tire maker to 82 euros from 63 euros.
Luxury goods conglomerate LVMH is losing 1.4 percent after Burberry Group said in London that it expects to deliver a modest improvement in operating margin in 2012. Burberry Group is falling 3.6 percent.
In London, Man Group is adding 3.1 percent after announcing strong net inflows since year-end.
Antofagasta is advancing 2.7 percent. The company reported higher revenues for the first quarter. Anglo American, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources and Xstrata are notably higher.
United Utilities is slipping 0.3 percent. The company reported a fall in pre-tax profit.
Outside the main index, Daily Mail & General Trust is falling 4.6 percent after issuing a cautious full year outlook.
Nobel Biocare Holding AG is rising 6.3 percent in Zurich reportedly on a broker upgrade. Again in Zurich, a positive broker action saw biotechnology firm Actelion Ltd jump about 2 percent.
In economic news, German import price inflation eased more than expected in April, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The rate of inflation in import prices slowed to 9.4 percent in April from 11.3 percent in March. Economists had expected the rate to ease to 9.9 percent.
Meanwhile, French consumer confidence improved marginally in May, a monthly survey by the statistical office Insee revealed. The headline measure of consumer confidence rose to 84 in May from 83 in April. The reading matched economists' forecast.
Across Asia/Pacific, most major markets ended higher. Australia's All Ordinaries added 1.58 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.67 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.48 percent. However, China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.24 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but remained in positive territory. The Dow closed up 0.3 percent, the Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 0.3 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for July delivery is sliding $0.64 to $100.68 per barrel and June gold is dropping $7 to $1519.7 a troy ounce.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.